In a major development in the Sania Zehra case, Multan courts have handed down a death sentence to the husband of the 20-year-old pregnant woman. Her brother and mother also received life imprisonment. The court directed all convicts to pay compensation to the victim’s family, bringing the case to a legal closure.
Death Sentence in Multan: Sania Zehra Case Verdict
Multan’s additional district and sessions judge on Wednesday sentenced the husband of 20-year-old Sania Zehra to death. The pregnant mother of two found dead in her home on July 9, 2024. The court confirmed it as a case of intentional murder, not suicide.
Judge Mohsin Ali Khan ruled that Syed Muhammad Ali Raza “duly convicted of the Qatal-i-Amd of Sania Zehra deceased.” The court order directs execution by hanging and sets a compensation of Rs500,000 to the victim’s family under Section 554-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Life Imprisonment for Other Family Members
The court also found Syed Haider Raza, brother of the main convict, and his mother, Syeda Azra Parveen, guilty in the Sania Zehra case. Both sentenced to life imprisonment and ordered to pay Rs500,000 each to the family.
The first information report (FIR) registered at New Multan police station under Sections 148, 149, and 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) following the complaint of Sania Zehra’s father, Syed Asad Abbas. He insisted her death was murder, alleging her in-laws tried to disguise it as suicide.
Police investigation showed that the victim was hanged on a ceiling fan. The medical reports and a forensic analysis showed that she died at 6 pm. The court affirmed that the husband, brother and the mother acted in good faith and in order to comply with condition 302(b) PPC.
This judgment in the case of Sania Zehra is a judicial move against domestic homicide and establishes a juridical precedent in Multan. The compensation orders provide some relief to the family of the victim, the end of one of the high-profile murder cases in the city.
